Electronic Arts, the world's largest video game publisher, released estimates of 2008 console sales, saying it believes Wii will win out in '08. Perhaps most surprising, however, is that EA believes PS3 will whoop Xbox 360 worldwide.

Digital Journal -- Published in a supplement (opens in PDF) to its financial report, Electronic Arts (EA) believes 2008 could be the year for Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3.

Internal estimates show EA is betting Wii will reign supreme, while Xbox 360 will slip to last place worldwide. EA estimates Xbox 360 and PS3 will tie in North American sales, but PS3 will likely clobber Microsoft's machine in Europe.

According to the report, EA estimates Sony will ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million PS3s in North America, and five to six million in Europe. The grand total: 9.5 to 11.5 million PS3s sold in 2008.

For Xbox 360, EA predicts Microsoft will sell 4.5 to 5.5 million units in North America and 1.5 to 2.5 million units in Europe. The grand total: six to eight million Xbox 360s sold in 2008.

For Wii, EA estimates Nintendo will ship 5.5 to 6.5 million units in North America and 6.5 to 7.5 million units in Europe: The grand total: 12 to 14 million Wiis sold in 2008.

EA does not include sales for Japan in its estimates, but the gaming industry largely expects PS3 to outsell 360 by a big margin in that country in 2008

In 2007, NPD Group numbers showed the PS3 was in third place in console sales in the U.S. behind both Wii and Xbox 360. But if EA's numbers hold true, Sony could see a needed bumper crop this year.

EA also predicted numbers in the handheld gaming market, where it sees Nintendo's DS cleaning up against the PlayStation Portable.